Utah teacher on leave for student quiz on sex lives, drugs

Michelle L. Price, Associated Press

Updated 4:55 pm, Monday, September 11, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah high school teacher has been placed on administrative leave for assigning students a questionnaire that asked about their sex lives, whether they'd used drugs or alcohol or had abortions and scored their answers to rate them as a "nerd," ''indecent" or "hopeless and condemned," district officials said Monday.

The 30-question survey was given to juniors in recent weeks at Roy High School, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City, as part of an "Adult Roles" course that teaches students about human relationships and financial literacy, according to Weber School District spokesman Lane Findlay.

The assignment indicates the quiz may have been repurposed from a decades-old Ann Landers advice column but Findlay said officials have not yet determined where it originated.

It included questions such as "Ever been kissed while in a reclining position?", "Have you ever slipped Angel Dust (anything) into someone's drink?" and "Even though you are straight would you go kinky to see what it's like?"

Affirmative answers to the questions were worth various points, which a student could tally and see if their score fell within eight ranges, including "Pure as Ivory soap and maybe a fruitcake," ''indecent" and "headed for serious trouble."

"I was just in complete shock," said parent Heather Miller, who said the questionnaire was invasive, judgmental and homophobic.

Miller said she learned of the assignment last week when her 16-year-old daughter came home with it and was dismayed at her "score."

Miller, who complained to school officials and shared a copy of the questionnaire with The Associated Press, said she couldn't believe the questions on the survey and that teenagers would be expected to put their names on it and turn it in.

"It's just alarming," she said. "I really was concerned about the amount of kids who could take something like this and it would really get to them, just like it did with my daughter."

He said it was not part of the approved course curriculum and did not know how many students were given the questionnaire.

Findlay declined to identify the teacher, citing the ongoing investigation, but said she was a veteran educator at the school.

He said officials don't believe there "was any kind of malicious intent" behind the assignment but it was inappropriate.

Findlay said the Adult Roles course includes some discussion of human sexuality and parents had to sign a consent form prior to their child participating, but the district said parents did not consent to the survey.

"Officials from Weber School District and Roy High School want to extend our sincere apology to the students who were asked to complete this questionnaire, as well as their parents and we assure you this survey will not be used in the future," the district said in a statement.

The district says federal and state laws bar surveys of student sexual behaviors or illegal behavior.

Findlay did not have details about what penalties a violator could face.